Customer Reviews
FANTASTIC - By: Nikica Gilic, 01 Jun 2008 
Yes, when I hear Webster blow his horn I'm smitten by the sheer beauty of his sound; the way he carresses his mouthpeace & blows his horn somehow produces warm & complex tone, capable of extremely wide range of emotion, impressivein all registers, but always beautiful (without even a hint of schmaltz or kitsch...).
In upper register he sometimes sounds sensitive like a violin, without pathetic quality (jazz) violinists can havein their upper register playing,in lower register my whole body reverberates with Ben's power. And for all this to take place it is not even necessary that he is caught at the peak of his form orin the right company!
Well, at this album he is right there at his peak and,in the company of
impressive range & dinamism of Oscar Peterson & his trusted gang (Ray Brown /b/ & Ed Thigpen /dm/), the things could hardly have gone wrong.
I'm particularly pleased with "When Your Lover has Gone", which is a great & logical material for such a group of great musicians, but it is interesting to compare Webster's treatment of children song "Bye Bye Blackbird", famousin jazz circles for Miles Davis' definitive treatment. Also; pay attention to the "In the Wee, Small Hours of the Morning"...
Although Ben is a star of this occasion & Oscar his trusted sidekick, other two musicians also get their licks & kicks, proving, yet again, how mainstream jazz can be a very powerfull mode of artistic expression.
Such a great CD!
This is as good as it gets - By: p.gould@dorset-cc.gov.uk, 16 Feb 2001 A superb recording from the two best purveyors of smoky night club swing. Ben takes the lead voice on most of the album but Oscar's contribution, though oftenin the background, is nontheless potent & polished. This is a must have for all fans of jazz from this period & indeed any other. It forms a superb introduction for those not familliar with the players & will be enjoyed even by those who do not think they like jazz at all! If you dont already own it get it now!
this CD is so good, I can't type for listening to it ... - By: , 15 Jan 2001 Imagine someone pouring ambrosia into your ears, lie backin your favourite chair, kick back & aaaaaaah, relax. Ben Webster, the master of the sax ballad meets Oscar Peterson, the master of mellow piano, throwin Ray Brown on bass & Ed Thigpen on drums; the combination is, well, just delicious. Both Webster & Peterson have such an understanding of phrasing that musical pyrotechnics are unnecessary. This is the nonchalance of perfection. Ray Brown's bass has never been better & on this recording, just listen to his playful lines on Bye-bye Blackbird. In fact the whole recording has both a beautiful simplicity but a sense of lazy fun. To coin a cliche, get this CD!
